Lillian sat on the porch finishing Mary Louise's scarf, the last one she had to do. The little girl's request had been that it be colorful. Lillian hoped the girl like what she had done. The bulk of the scarf was black, with bands of color at either end. Lillian was currently putting fringe on the end of the scarf, using short strands of just about every color yarn that Gabriel had picked up.

As she worked, Lillian listened to the conversation between Nathan and Gabriel who sat nearby. The two were talking about different issues going on in the area, most of the talk being things that Lillian wasn't aware of. Part of her wondered if she wanted to know about them. However she wasn't about to give up any time she could spend with Gabriel, especially with him leaving town in the morning.

Lillian had experienced a couple more nightmares in the past week. Thankfully, she hadn't woken up the household with the latter ones. Part of her worried that she would experience a nightmare every night with Gabriel out of town.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Nathan stated. "I had an early morning and a long ride today."

"And you have more of that to look forward tomorrow," Gabriel commented, a teasing smile on his face.

"Don't remind me," Nathan told him. "My ride would have been shorter if I hadn't swung by Brookfield on my way to High River."

"I know," Gabriel said, growing serious. "I appreciate you coming the extra way. The idea of this trial is bothering me more than I care to admit."

Nathan reached out and placed his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "You're not doing this alone. I'll be there for you the whole time, and anytime you want to talk, I'll listen."

Gabriel nodded. "Thanks," he told Nathan. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You're welcome," Nathan said simply, letting his hand drop from Gabriel's shoulder as he got to his feet. "Thank-you for dinner, Lillian."

"You're welcome," Lillian told him. "I put some more blankets out in the cottage and Vincent and Christian were supposed to make sure there was plenty of wood stacked inside for the fireplace. The nights are getting cold."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, thank-you," Nathan told her with a quick nod before heading down the steps and toward the cottage where he would be bunking for the night.

With Nathan's departure, Gabriel now found himself alone with Lillian. "You've been quiet tonight," Gabriel commented softly.

Lillian looked in his direction to find him looking her way. "You and Nathan seemed to be conversing very well without me."

"Well that explains tonight, but you've been quieter than usual all week. Is there something on your mind, Lillian?"

Lillian hesitated in answering. The last thing she wanted was to send Gabriel on his way with her own worries. She had a feeling that Gabriel might have his own bad feelings and memories to contend with from that day. He didn't need hers as well, especially right before he went to face the man that had physically and emotionally hurt him. Facing that man right after the incident had been hard for her, and she had no desire to do it again. However, she would be willing to do anything, even face that man again, for Gabriel's sake. In this case, that wasn't possible. Gabriel was the one they needed the testimony from and even if they didn't, Lillian had a feeling that this was something that Gabriel needed to do for his own mental well being. After all, he had gone and talked to the bank robber who had shot him voluntarily because something hadn't felt right about the robbery. Despite almost dying, Gabriel had taken bits of information and kept digging for the truth.

Despite this being straightforward, Lillian knew that Gabriel would still want to make justice was carried out.

"Are you not feeling well?" Gabriel asked when the silence had gone on too long for his liking. "Have I said or done something to upset you?"

"No, of course not," Lillian replied quickly, not wanting Gabriel to think she was upset with him. "And I'm feeling fine," she added remembering the first question.

Taking in the concern in Gabriel's eyes, Lillian knew that remaining quiet wasn't going to keep Gabriel from worrying about her.

"Talk to me, Lillian," Gabriel requested, holding his hand out to her.

Laying Mary Louise's scarf in her lap, Lillian reached out and took Gabriel's hand.

"It's nothing, really. I've just had a few bad dreams this past week. I guess the talk about the trial and the fact that you are going out of town for it has made them resurface," Lillian told him, trying to keep her voice steady and casual.

"Dreams about what happened that day?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes," Lillian admitted. "I had a few right after the incident. Those were just about what happened though. The more recent ones have been a little different."

There was a brief silence. When Lillian didn't continue, Gabriel spoke.

"Are the dreams about losing someone during what happened?"

Lillian gave a brief gasp of surprise. "How did you know?"

"Because every time I dream about what happened that day, I dream about losing you," Gabriel admitted, as he got to his feet, still holding her hand. "Come here," he requested softly.

Putting her project aside, Lillian got to her feet. Stepping forward, she let Gabriel pull her close. He let go of her hand as he put his arms around her. Lillian put her hands on his shoulders as she gazed into his eyes.

"When you opened the door that morning and I saw that guy with his gun pointed at Grace, all I could think was that I had to keep her safe. I knew that losing her would hurt you. However, I felt powerless. I knew that if I tried taking him on directly, someone would get hurt. I couldn't risk that. I could only hope that if I kept him focused on me, he would leave the rest of you alone. Thankfully, he did, but in my dreams, things didn't turn out as well. I know that my fears are coming through because my biggest fear is not being able to keep you and those you love safe."

"You did keep us safe though, Gabriel," Lillian assured him, feeling honored that he had shared his fears with her.

"This time," Gabriel agreed. "But I worry that there may come a time when I can't. I want to do everything I can to keep that worry from coming true. Making sure that Jack Trenton is behind bars is one way I can keep that from happening, though I will admit too not being eager to face the guy. He knew he had an advantage over me that day. Just because he's facing prison time, I know he won't forget that."

"Part of me wishes I could go with you," Lillian told him, leaning her head against his chest. The sound of his heartbeat found its way to her ear. It was a sound that she found soothing.

"I don't want you anywhere near this guy again, even while he's in custody. Especially not after hearing what he threatened to do."

Lillian heard his words even as the images of her recent dream came back to her again, specifically the darker red staining the jacket of Gabriel's uniform. The same uniform that he was currently wearing, having not changed when he had brought Nathan to the orphanage this evening. Sliding her hand off Gabriel's shoulder, she moved her fingers to where the blood appeared in her dream.

"When I heard the gunshot that day, I was so afraid that I had lost you. I was certain that he had shot you."

"I think that was what he wanted," Gabriel told her, remembering the sound of the gun being cocked behind him. The man had simply been trying to mess with people's minds at that point, his own included. "I think he enjoyed his victims' fear more than anything else, not that he wouldn't have pulled the trigger if properly provoked. He fired that shot simply to scare as many people as he could, me included."

Lillian shifted her head to look up at Gabriel. She could see the turmoil of emotions in his expression. Reaching up, she placed a hand on the side of his cheek.

"Are you going to be okay?" Lillian asked.

Gabriel looked down at her. "I don't know," he answered her honestly. "What I do know, is that I'll have Nathan to lean on if need be. I don't want you to worry, Lillian."

"That's easier said than done," Lillian told him.

Gabriel gave her a sad smile. "I know exactly what you mean," he told her before lowering his head so that he could press his lips against hers.

Keeping her hand against his cheek, Lillian returned the kiss. Gabriel might only be leaving to testify at a trial this time, but Lillian still didn't want him leaving town with any doubt about how she felt about him. Life was full of uncertainties. That was the one thing she was sure of.

Sitting in Newton's saddle, Nathan held on to Apollo's reigns as Gabriel said good-bye to Lillian. The young orphanage proprietor was currently in Gabriel's embrace as the two spoke quietly. He couldn't hear the words, but then Nathan didn't need to in order to know the basic idea of what was being said. He had experienced a similar good-bye the day before with Elizabeth.

Nathan waited patiently, knowing that this time together was important for the both of them. Finally, Gabriel released Lillian, and the redhead took a step back. Turning, Gabriel came down the porch steps of the orphanage toward where Nathan and the horses were waiting.

"Take care of each other," Lillian called out to them, though her gaze met Nathan's.

Nathan smiled at her. "We will," he assured her as Gabriel swung up onto Apollo. "We should be back by the end of the week."

"I'll be counting the days," Lillian said.

"As is Elizabeth," Nathan replied as he handed Apollo's reigns to Gabriel.

Both Mounties touched their fingers to the brim of their hats with a slight nod, before turning their horses to the south. It was a long ride to High River. A trip that would require them to camp on the trail for at least one night.

The pace set was a moderate one, as neither Gabriel nor Nathan wanted to push the horses for no reason. Comfortable with one another's presence, the two men rode in silence, neither feeling the need to make small talk.

As they rode, Nathan kept casting glances over at Gabriel. There was a thoughtful expression on his friend's face, but Nathan couldn't tell what Gabriel was feeling. Then again, Gabriel always had been able to mask his feelings better than most.

It was Gabriel who finally broke the silence.

"What if I get down there and I can't face this guy, Nathan?"

"Then I at least had good company for this trip," Nathan replied easily.

Gabriel shot his friend a glare.

"I'm serious, Gabe. The force requested that you testify during the trial. It's not a summons like mine was. If you feel like you can't face this guy, they'll take a statement from you and enter the statement into evidence at the trial. That is what Reynolds is doing?"

"Paul Reynolds? From our training?"

"Yes," Nathan replied. "When I heard he was the Mountie shot in the original robbery attempt in High River, I reached out. The first couple of times I called, I talked to his wife. Reynolds took a bullet in the shoulder and the thigh that day. He had to have several surgeries and Eileen said he wasn't in a good place mentally. When I called last week, Reynolds finally took my call. He said he's still struggling with the emotional fall out of what happened. Apparently, one of the bystanders injured during that attempt was a pregnant woman who broke her arm when Reynolds pushed her out of the way of the bullet he took to the shoulder. The mother almost went into premature labor but the doctor's were able to stop it but the mother had been in the hospital since. She gave birth to a little boy a couple of weeks ago. He was early but both mother and son are doing well. The mother came to see Reynolds at home. She was the first visitor other than his wife he consented to see. She named her son Paul, and thanked him for saving her life. Reynolds said he was able to finally accept that despite the mother still getting hurt that he had still kept her from getting shot. The outcome could have been different if she had taken the bullet instead of him. Reynolds is talking to a therapist and thinking about taking a desk job there in High River, but he told me he wasn't in a place mentally to face this guy. So, I'm going to tell you what I told him on the phone. You need to do what is right for you. There is more than enough evidence against this guy for the charges to stick without giving him a chance to inflict more harm with that mouth of his."

Gabriel didn't reply right away and Nathan remained silent as well. He wanted to give his friend time to process the information he was just given.

Eventually, Gabriel spoke again.

"Did you know when you asked Lillian to identify him that he had made the threat to have his way with her or Grace?"

"I suspected it from things that were said," Nathan admitted. "I didn't say anything to you because I didn't think you needed more things to worry about at that time. I take it Lillian talked to you?"

"She did."

"Good," Nathan said. "I think it needed to come from her."

"When she told me, all I wanted to do was wrap my fingers around his neck," Gabriel admitted. "Now, I'm not even sure I want to face the man. I know that anything I do won't change what happened. In fact, it'll probably only give him more satisfaction to know that he is still able to mess with my mind."

"You're right. You can't change what happened. However, you can help put this guy behind bars for as long as possible by testifying at his trial. If he's in prison, he can't inflict any more harm, physically or emotionally."

Nathan saw Gabriel nod as he gazed down the road they were traveling.

Reaching out, Nathan rested his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "I'm going to be there the whole time and I support whatever choice you make."

"And if I get another sudden urge to want to go after this guy?" Gabriel asked, looking over at Nathan.

"Then I'll be there to keep you from doing anything stupid," Nathan assured him, giving his friend's shoulder a squeeze before letting his hand fall from Gabriel's shoulder.

"Thank-you, Nathan," Gabriel said. "I'm glad you're making this trip with me. I think your presence is the only thing keeping me from turning around and heading back to Brookfield already."

"Any time, my friend. Any time."

The two friends fell back into a companionable silence again, the only sound the soft thuds of their horses' hooves carrying them closer to High River.